pica + pixel

Aol. Rebrand.

2009-12-03T23:13:00.004-05:00

Aol announced last week that it will be revealing a new branding identity on December 10th when it breaks away from Time Warner. As part of this announcement, Aol gave a sneak peak at their new identity. At first glance, it looked like first-year design school project gone bad. I didn't see anything but the logos and they were a bit tired. (See below.)

But after catching a glimpse on Brand New of how the identity would work across various media (print, motion, products, etc.), I have to say that the identity might work out to be interesting and smart. For now, I am going to wait to see how identity rolls out and what Aol can make of it.

Emigre turns 25!!!!

2009-12-02T23:45:00.004-05:00

Emigre just released Emigre No. 70: The Look Back Issue – Celebrating 25 Years in Graphic Design. The book lovingly traces the history of the magazine from its start in the late 1980s through today. The 512-page book covers all 69 issues of Emigre magazine showing off how it influenced and reflected the trends in the design community. Rudy VanderLans designed the book and it has interviews with The Designers Republic, Rick Valicenti, Vaughan Oliver, Ed Fella and much, much more. It is a must have for every designer whether you are a seasoned veteran designer who designed through the 80s or a fresh-faced design student just starting out.

Coinciding along with the release of the book, there will be a show at Gallery 16 in San Francisco showing off various spreads from the magazine, press sheets and promotional posters so check it out from December 18, 2009 - January 30, 2010.

Minute Maid Packaging Redesign

2009-11-30T18:33:00.008-05:00

If you recall the hullabaloo earlier this year with the redesign of the Tropicana packaging, the recent announcement by rival Coca-Cola of its Minute Maid juice packaging made me hesitate to click the link. While I was not among those who loathed the streamlined look of the Tropicana update, it was certainly a visual departure.

Minute Maid took a safer route by cleaning up the overall visual cacaphony and adding fresh. almost geometric images of the fruit. Fewer fonts are used giving the package a tighter look. Let's hope that all the "Plus Calcium and Vitamin D," "Extra Pulp," and other variations don't gunk up this cleaner look.

The packaging was redesigned by Duffy & Partners in partnership with CMA Brand Presence.

For more detailed information, check out the article on The DieLine which includes a video.

[Related Posts: Out with the New, Back in with the Old and When Rebrands Go Bad]

Norman Rockwell: The photos behind the illustrations

2009-11-30T18:01:00.007-05:00

NPR's The Picture Show features the photos behind some of the most well-known illustrations of Norman Rockwell. Rockwell worked with photographers to create the images that became the basis of his illustrations. He art directed each shot to the minutest detail. There is a new book, Norman Rockwell: Behind the Camera and an exhibit at the Norman Rockwell Museum. Check out more photos on The Picture Show Interactive Gallery and listen to the audio from Weekend Edition.

Eye Candy: Andy Warhol's Athlete Polaroids

2009-11-24T23:12:00.004-05:00

Something simple and beautiful about these Warhol Polaroids. See these in person at the Danziger Projects in NYC until December 12. Can't make it? Check out this slide show from the New York Times.

Gouache has its day

2009-11-23T12:56:00.003-05:00

1. know what you are eating!, 2. Frozen Food, 3. 175, 4. cosmonaut, 5. fall house, 6. 1 of 5 illustrations for 'My Heart Draws a Rough Map', 7. Untitled, 8. Athena (Gouache on Wood), 9. I bought brand new gouache colors today

Thanks to a couple artist's at work who brought it to my attention, I've discovered that gouache is making a comeback. I think gouache was always seen as the graphic artist's poor cousin to watercolors and acrylics and never seen as a medium for "serious artists." But now, thanks to the urge to do something different, gouache is getting its day in the sun (though due to its lightfastness rating, maybe "day in the shade" might be better).

Check out the Gouache Works group for more inspiration.

The Midcentury Modernist: Home decor porn for designers

2009-11-20T14:24:00.003-05:00

From Eames to appliances, The Midcentury Modernist is now officially my favorite home decor blog. Gorgeous plywood furniture and those deliciously minimalist lines from California to Sweden, this is a feast for the eyes. Warning: maybe be detrimental to bank account. You've been warned.

Luv-able + Hug-able Show at Gallery Hanahou

2009-11-20T13:53:00.004-05:00

Gallery Hanahou in NYC is hosting its third annual holiday plush show. The theme this year is "medium and mini" so all the plush will be smaller scale -- perfectly gift-sized. Fifty artists are featured from around the world. The show opens on Thursday, Dec. 3 from 6-9pm.

Some of the artist's involved are friends of P+P so we'll get the nepotism started first: Robyn Fabsits, and Lisa of QDPatooties will have work in the show. Other (favorite) artists featured are Christina Gordon of Jam Fancy, Anna Chambers, Elisabeth Doherty of Gourmet Amigurumi along with new-to-us artists, Heidi Kenney, APAK!, and Sandra Monat of herzensart.

[Plush by Lisa of QDPatooties]

Kapitza Vector Images and Dingbat Fonts

2009-11-19T06:28:00.001-05:00

Kapitza sells vector illustrations as fonts or vector files. Sets include botanicals, geometrics and figurative.

Christoph Niemann's take on diversity

2009-11-18T22:26:00.004-05:00

Once again, Christoph Niemann's Abstract City blog on the New York Times doesn't disappoint. In this post, he tackles bio-diversity in a unique and witty way.

Eye Candy: Ben Javens

2009-11-18T11:19:00.003-05:00

Ben Javens creates lovely illustrations which he chronicles in his blog. From sweet to rockin', his work totally makes me smile. He also has a shop on Big Cartel to purchase hand screenprinted prints and other objects d'art.

New York Through The Years

2009-11-17T23:39:00.001-05:00

Being a photographer, graphic designer and tiny bit of a history geek, I love finding photographic documentation of specific locations over a span of dozens of years. Imagine my glee when the New York Times recently published a small photo archive of various locations through out Manhattan and the boroughs from 1930, 1980 and today. The collection provides an insightful look at the evolution of a metropolis and it's neighborhoods over the past century.

In the beginning Crumb created Genesis

2009-11-16T23:22:00.003-05:00

Comic icon R. Crumb just released a 224 page graphic novel of Genesis called, The Book of Genesis Illustrated. Both comic geeks and Christians are snapping up the book left and right. From the excerpts I've seen of the book, I might have to grab one for myself.

20 Tweetable Truths About Magazines

2009-11-12T06:18:00.001-05:00

This video was created by the magazine trade organization, Magazine Publishers of America, as an introduction to the Magazine Innovation Summit but the video has made its way to YouTube with Tweet-sized statements about the statistics of magazine readership and its advantages to other media.

Bonus? It's been lovingly set in Gotham all caps.

Its a nicely created flash video and a great reminder that people are still looking for tangible non-Tweet-sized information.

[via FontFeed]

Congratulations to Jake and his Cut & Paste Victory!

2009-11-11T23:14:00.003-05:00

It is a little late, but we want to give a big congratulations to our friend Jake who won the Cut & Paste Global Championships for Motion Graphics! Jake did a guest post for us back in March describing what it was like to win the New York City regional event and now he won the whole enchilada. Check out his winning entry below.

In The Garden of 1001101110 from Jake Guttormsson on Vimeo.

Design Sponge, the Swedish Version

2009-11-11T17:04:00.004-05:00

Emmas Designblogg is a contemporary home decor and lifestyle blog from Sweden. Its a different look at a well-worn topic. Yes, there's a little bit of nesting going on there but heck, Swiss Miss is doing it too.

2009-11-09T14:36:00.004-05:00

Typophile Film Festival 5 Opening Titles from Brent Barson on Vimeo

Brilliant opening sequence for the 5th Annual Typophile Film Festival created by Brent Barson and design students and faculty from BYU.Created entirely using traditional filming techniques with the five senses being the theme for the film. Letters were cut from Plexiglass, wood, aluminum, foam, ham, potatoes, jell-o, squash, Kool-Aid, clay and incense cones. Watch the video. Four minutes, very well spent.

None of your business cards

2009-11-06T06:18:00.001-05:00

In the tradition of CarTalk's closing credits, Mauseth Design (with the help of Studio on Fire) created a series of "None of your Business" cards. Beautifully letterpress printed, these cards can be handed out to skeevy people you meet at cocktail parties, bars and various AIGA events. Only once they've sobered up a bit will they get that the joke is on them.

The Lettering of Harry Potter

2009-11-05T13:56:00.002-05:00

The Harry Potter films are chock-full of beautiful hand lettered calligraphy, from opening sequences to the closing credits. Bob Walker (worked on Sorcerer's Stone) and Julian Walker (worked on the first three films) are actually mentioned in the credits as "lettering artists." Cool!

[via DesignWorkLife]

Eye Candy: I Spy intro

2009-11-04T23:07:00.003-05:00

Tonight, my husband and I watched the Mark Twain Prize on PBS where they honored Bill Cosby. They showed the opening to I Spy which starred Mr. Cosby and I loved it and thought I would share it with you all.

Photoshop Lady: Good blog for photoshop effects

2009-11-02T23:13:00.003-05:00

Next time you get stuck on how to do some crazy type effect in Photoshop, check out the Photoshop Lady blog. The blog culls the internet for the best and non-cheesy photoshop effect tutorials. It gives you simple instructions and even gives you an idea of how long each effect should take.

The Art of the Well-Designed Form

2009-10-30T06:59:00.000-04:00

The German book Formulare Gestalten (Designing forms) is chock full of the art and craft of the well-designed form. Forms are the perfect blending of design and function and Formulare Gestalten provides details about how to create more usable, user-friendly forms with over 60 case studies. A new English edition of the book is available this month (October 2009).

Eye Candy: Andy Awesome

2009-10-29T06:42:00.000-04:00

Star Wars simplicity by Andy Awesome.

PS: If you like this art but haven't seen Fanboys yet, get thee to your Netflix queue!

[via Drawn]

Video: Creating Comics

2009-10-28T17:25:00.003-04:00

Cartoonist Doug Tennapel discusses digital vs. traditional media along with lots of other issues related to the art and craft of creating comic books.

[via Drawn]

Photographer: Pancho Tolchinsky

2009-10-27T23:09:00.003-04:00

Some lovely photography from Barcelona artist Pancho Tolchinsky.